The Improvised Musical in PoCo

Port Coquitlamâ€™s newest comedy venue – Second Storey Theatre – is proud to present a new show called The Improvised Musical. As the name suggests, it is a completely improvised show, from the characters and story, to the music and song lyrics. It runs Friday and Saturdays starting tonight and continuing to Saturday, June 25. The Improvised Musical is sure to entertain comedy lovers, musical theatre goers and Gleeks of all ages (the show is PG).

â€œWhen most people think of improv, they think of TheatreSports or short scenes on shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?â€ says show creator and director, Jennifer Pielak. â€œWhat a lot of people donâ€™t know is that you can improvise full length plays – and even musicals. This show is Port Coquitlamâ€™s very first improvised musical, and one of only a handful of improvised musicals running in Canada. We hope to get a lot of people out to see what we can do.â€

The show begins with the cast and band taking the stage and asking the audience for a suggestion to inspire the show. From there, the band improvises a song, and the cast begins to improvise the lyrics and melody for the opening number. The performers continue to make things up as they go and ultimately create an entire musical from scratch.

â€œThe audience will definitely be laughing as they watch us come up with an entire musical on the spot,â€ Jennifer says.

The showâ€™s cast and band feature talented performers from the Tri-Cities and across Metro Vancouver. Cast members Kasia Gabinska, Fran Breden, Logan Wolsfeld, Dylan Jenken and Douglas College Theatre student Jake Gillespie all hail from the V3H. They are joined by table23 comedyâ€™s Jennifer Pielak and Vancouver improviser Daniel Chai. Musical direction is by the accomplished pianist and music teacher Peter Abando, who has composed for Theatrix and is often found gigging around the Lower Mainland. He is accompanied by Maple Ridge drummer Conor Chambers, and Coquitlam musicians Tim Pielak and Jason Pielak.

A completely new show each night, The Improvised Musical runs Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00pm 201-2550 Shaughnessy Street, above the Dairy Queen [map]. For more information visit www.secondstoreytheatre.com, find the Facebook event page or call 604-927-8400.